


Little Birds

by Mystery_Penman



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Cuddly Batman, Damian's still a stuck up little shit but Danny's gonna fix that, Dick Jason and Tim think he's cool, F/M, Father-Son Relationship, Kinda, Protective Bruce, Young Bruce Wayne, it's cute, listen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-30
Updated: 2015-05-02
Packaged: 2018-03-26 11:44:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3849709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mystery_Penman/pseuds/Mystery_Penman
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Damian's…been difficult since his mother dropped him in Bruce's care. Never listening, constantly back talking, not…</p><p>He's not Dick. Or Tim. Or Jason.</p><p>And their latest venture, looking into a dimensional anomaly in Gotham, hasn't improved the boy's mood.</p><p>So when a younger version of Bruce and a different Robin fall through the portal, Bruce expects Damian to take out the other Robin so they can deal with them at the Cave.</p><p>He doesn't expect the small, black haired laughing little boy to put Damian on his ass and give Bruce a run for his money.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Bruce could deal with a lot of things, freaks and criminals and clown princes of crime.

But his son was driving him _up the wall_.

Damian just couldn’t grasp the fact that not _everything_ could be solved with killing.

If this kept up, Bruce was going to have to take Robin away from him.

And that was something he didn’t want to do.

“Robin, keep in my sight,” he grunted through the comm as Damian vaulted ahead.

Grumbling, Damian slinked back to his side.

“What are we doing out here anyway?” He asked, defiant.

“There was a dimensional anomaly,” Bruce told him. “Something is coming through. And we need to find where and stop it.”

“So, where is it?”

“Somewhere in this area, with about a fifty metre radius.” Bruce explained. “It’ll look…”

“Like that?” Damian pointed, and Bruce turned to see a glowing, swirling yellow portal burst open on the next rooftop.

“Yes.” Bruce said. “Battle positions. Whatever coming through will have to be dangerous.”

The portal grew larger, then spat out two figures.

* * *

Danny landed nimbly on his feet and turned on his heel to look at Bruce, who landed beside him and put a hand on Danny’s head.

“You okay?” He asked.

Danny nodded, nuzzling against Bruce’s hand before Bruce pulled it away and looked around.

“This…isn’t our Gotham,” he said.

“How can you tell?” Danny asked, hands on his hips.

“For starters, there’s an older, bulkier version of myself and a Robin who is _definitely_ not you coming at us. Just so you know of course.”

Danny whirled around and sprang backwards as the other Robin tackled him.

“Missed me missed me now you gotta kiss me!” He teased, giggling.

He ducked and dodged the other Robin’s blows easily, giggling all the while, as the other Robin got increasingly frustrated.

“Man you’re slow,” Danny yawned. “I mean, come on. You could have at least scratched me by now!”

He landed a hard kick to the other Robin’s hip, right at the point to make his leg buckle, and then threw a right hook, sending the boy flying, unconscious, across the roof.

He turned then, just as Bruce was knocked to the ground, unmoving, and the other Batman narrowed his eyes in Danny's direction.

"I'm sorry, did I break your little bird's wings?" Danny teased. "Gonna cry?"

"Hardly," the other Batman said, and Danny ducked under his fist, landed a solid hit to the other Batman's stomach, and then flipped into the air, connecting his foot with the underside of the man's jaw.

"Both of you,  _so slow_ ," Danny sighed. "Seriously," he ducked under the man's blow. "Try," he jumped left to avoid a bone shattering kick. "Going," he blocked the elbow jab and flipped into the air, twisting the other Batman's arm behind his head. " _Faster_ ," he slammed both heels into the small of the other Batman's back, and the man cried out and his legs buckled under him.

Suddenly, the other Batman's head snapped back and hit Danny square on the forehead, and Danny stumbled back, clutching his head.

He had a smart comment, something about breaking omelettes and making eggs, or was it the other way around? but a black fist connected with the side of his head, and everything went dark.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is set in a very Son of Batman/Batman vs Robin universe.
> 
> Only with older Bruce.

“Where’s Robin?” The Alternate Batman snarled as he pressed against the bars. “I swear if you’ve hurt him I’ll break you in half!”

Bruce raised an eyebrow at his both his double’s rage and his youth. He couldn’t be anymore than thirty at best, twenty years younger than himself.

He also couldn’t remember every being _this_ protective of Dick, or Tim and Jason for that matter.

Not even Damian.

“The boy is safe, still unconscious,” Bruce told him patiently. “I don’t recognise him, though. He’s not one of my Robins.”

“He’s a damn sight better,” the Alt growled. “I want him in my cell with me. Where he damn well belongs you bastard.”

“First, you’re going to explain how you got here,” Bruce said. “And then if I decide you’re not dangerous, I’ll let you out. Both of you.”

The Alt’s eyes went hard and cold, all the fire buried, not gone, and he unclenched his fingers from around the bars of the cell.

“The Justice League was fighting Luthor, Gorilla Grodd, Toy Man, Joker, Killer Croc, Metallo and a new villain, calls himself Beam Master, using a gun that shot yellow beams of pure energy. He was about to hit Robin, and I jumped in front of it, and Robin and I got sent here.” The Alt said. “Do you want to see photos of me and Superman playing darts and drinking beer in a bar, or do you believe I’m not going to hurt you so long as Robin isn’t hurt?”

“What’s Robin’s real name?” Bruce asked.

The Alt grit his teeth. “Daniel Xavier Wilde. Born September Fifteenth, 2001. New York City.”

Bruce typed the information into the Bat computer.

All that came up was a story about a couple and their son being killed in a hit ten years ago.

“He’s dead in this universe,” Bruce told the Alt as he pressed a button to unlock the cell.

The Alt stepped out cautiously.

“Where’s Danny?” He growled.

Bruce pressed another button and the boy’s cell door opened.

* * *

Bruce fell to his knees beside Danny and stroked his hair.

“Bub are you awake?” He asked softly. “Bubby…”

“Dad…?”

Bruce let out a breath as Danny’s blue eyes opened slowly and he dropped a kiss onto Danny’s forehead. “Yeah Bubby, anything broken?”

Danny flexed his muscles and shook his head. “Killer headache though…did you hit me?”

“Never,” Bruce assured him. “My other self is a dick, he hit you after he knocked me out. Thank god he didn’t hit you too hard.”

Danny sat up slowly and rubbed his eyes, then looped his arms around Bruce’s neck and rested his head on Bruce’s shoulder.

Bruce hugged him and rubbed his back gently. “You sure you’re okay? I’m sure the dick out there has some medical equipment for me to examine you with.”

“M’okay,” Danny said. “Just tired.”

Bruce kissed his ear. “Okay, get some sleep.”

Danny nodded and dropped his head to Bruce’s shoulder as Bruce scooped him up and carried him out to the main part of the cave.

“Is he concussed?” His Alternate asked.

“No,” Bruce scowled. “If he had I’d have kicked your ass.”

“You would really risk being locked up again for that boy?” His Alt frowned.

“If you knew him, you would too,” Bruce answered. “I know my way to the guest bedroom. Danny stays with me.”

He set Danny down on the medical bed and began stripping him out of his armour, scowling at the bruises he could see beginning to form on his son’s tanned skin.

* * *

Bruce crept over as his double stripped the boy out of his armour and studied it.

The top half of the suit resembled Dick’s original costume greatly, but with a choker collar and made of a light but strong fabric, it also went down to mid thigh and the gloves were more like Damian’s, armoured and green with prongs on the forearms.

The lower half was more like Tim’s and Damian’s, tights instead of shorts. These were black, with padding on the knees and a red stripe down the outside. The boots were bright green, the same as the sleeves of his tunic, and knee high without laces.

Bruce tapped the toe of one of the boots, and was surprised to find I was steel capped.

“He’s small,” his double grunted. “He doesn’t hit as hard as I do. Gives him an extra kick.”

Bruce nodded in agreement.

He’d thought about steel capping Tim’s boots once, but fear of Tim relying on the steel stopped him.

The cape was what fascinated him the most. It was soft, almost silk like and pooled around his fingers like water, and the hood was similar, but thicker and more shaped. The cape was bright yellow, but the hood was black, and Bruce frowned as he studied it.

“This…isn’t like any fabric I’ve seen,” he murmured.

“Danny designed it himself,” his double answered. “He’s a smart kid. Smarter than that boy you had with you.”

“A lot less hot headed.” Bruce said quietly. “I’ll…put this away. You head upstairs…and I’ll tell my…”

“Family?” His double supplied with an almost cheekiness.

Bruce narrowed his eyes.

* * *

Dick was in Gotham nearing midnight.

"So some Alt kid beat up the brat?" Dick quirked an eyebrow. "And nearly took you out. By himself."

"If he'd landed another good hit he would have gotten away," Bruce nodded. "I'll admit, he's good."

"How's the brat taking all this?" Dick asked after a moment, and Bruce sighed.

Damian...

Well.

"Twice I had to stop him from murdering them," Bruce admitted. "His pride is what got wounded the most. Less than a minute it took the kid to take him out, and he was  _laughing_ about it as he did it. He's fast, Dick. Nearing metahuman speed, not like the Flash or Superman…but faster than a normal human. And stronger."

"Or it could be his training," Dick said. "You trained me to be faster, not stronger, when I was his size. And I was fast. I could hold my own against you once upon a time on just speed alone. What if he's…"

"He showed training from a group of monks in Tibet I was trained by many years ago," Bruce said. "Moves learned only by training at their monastery. And medical training. At least medical training put into use through combat."

"Meaning?" Dick asked.

"Either it was a lucky hit, but I lost all feeling in my lower half for a solid minute when he kicked me. Like he hit a pressure point in my back. For a moment I'd thought he paralysed me."

"Shit."

"I agree," Bruce sighed. "Any word from Tim and Jason? If these Alts turn out to be hostile, I'd rather them here. And it'll keep Damian's mind off them, too."

"Tim should be here by tomorrow afternoon, and Jason…he'd said he come by just to see what kind of kid could beat Damian." Dick said. "He's…pretty enthusiastic."

"Wonderful," Bruce grumbled.

 


End file.
